Harbor Porpoise

Harbor Porpoise


The mammal harbor Porpoise or sometimes called by fisherman, Puffing pigs, Because porpoise comes from the Latin word pig and when they come to the surface to breath,which is about every 25 seconds, they make a loud puffing noise , roll and arch their backs. Harbor porpoise scientific name is Phocoena phocoena. Their bodes are black with white belles and dark grey fins. Size range is 5 -6 feet , the female get larger then the male, they weigh around 150lb. Their mouths are small with spade shaped teeth. They eat mainly schools of fish like herring.
Females are ready for mating around the age of 3 or 4, they give birth around summer time and can mate for several years. Calves are 15-20lbs and 25-35 inch. long and they feed for 8 months. harbor porpoise can live up to 24 years old.
You can find these mammals in water no deeper then 650 feet in bays, fjords and harbors. Places like West Greenland to Cape Hatteras NC , West Africa even japan. Usually swimming around in small groups.
In the Gulf of Alaska there is an abundance of about 41,854, number from the 2006 stock of assessment reports on for harbor porpoise. Even though they are doing good in numbers they are not as they once were, because they a lot of times get stuck in commercial fisherman nets. If your wanting to see these mammals up close it might be hard because they are very shy and don't come up to boats unlike other kinds of porpoises.
http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/species/mammals/cetaceans/harborporpoise.htm
http://www.acsonline.org/factpack/HarborPorpoise.htm
http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/harbor-porpoise/